copywriting · demystify copywriting and break it down into simple, actionable steps which any...

Copywriting

WHAT’S COMING INTRODUCTION (PART ONE) The secret to copywriting that truly boosts your profits

INTRODUCTION (PART TWO) The sharpen system to make sure any copywriting converts like crazy

TIP #1: PUT YOUR PROSPECT’S BIGGEST PAIN IN THE HEADLINE

TIP #2: SHORT FIRST SENTENCE

TIP #3: ELABORATE ON THEIR PAIN, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TIP #4: TELL YOUR STORY – CREATE CREDIBILITY, TRUST AND LIKING

TIP #5: PROVE TO THEM WHY YOU ARE A UNIQUE AND UNDOUBTEDLY THE BEST AVAILABLE SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM

TIP #6: GET YOUR NUMBER ONE SALESPERSON TO SELL TO YOU

TIP #7: USE CUSTOMER STORIES AND TESTIMONIALS, IN ALL YOUR COPYWRITING AND MARKETING

TIP #8: USE SOCIAL PROOF IN YOUR COPYWRITING

TIP #9: SHOW AUTHORITY, DOUBLE THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS

TIP #10: USE CONSISTENCY, GET THEM SAYING ‘YES, YES, YES’

TIP #11: GET THEM TO MAKE A COMMITMENT IN THEIR MIND

TIP #12: CREATE MULTIPLE PRICE COMPARISONS, EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL

TIP #13: COMPARISON OF VALUE, IN EVERY SENSE

TIP #14: CREATE LIMITATIONS – USE SCARCITY TO SKYROCKET YOUR CONVERSIONS

TIP #15: ADD BONUSES – TEN TIMES THE VALUE OF THE OFFER

TIP #16: ADDRESS AND REMOVE ALL OBJECTIONS IN YOUR PROSPECT’S MIND

TIP #17: CRANK UP THE PAIN TIP #18: USE SHORT, SIMPLE, STRONG WORDS AND SENTENCES TIP #19: PROVE YOUR CREDIBILITY

TIP #20: GIVE THEM A TEST RUN, A FREE TRIAL!

TIP #21: DEMONSTRATE YOUR SOLUTION – LET THEM LIVE IT IN THEIR MIND’S EYE

TIP #22: SUPERCHARGE CONVERSIONS WITH GUARANTEE

TIP #23: SHOW THEM EXACTLY THE STEPS THEY WILL TAKE JUST BEYOND THEM PAYING

TIP #24: GIVE YOUR COPYWRITING A NICE LAST MINUTE SURPRISE!

TIP #25: HAVE A CRYSTAL CLEAR COMMANDING CALL TO ACTION – TELL THEM TO BUY!!

CONCLUSION: THE AWESOME POWER OF CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ON YOUR CONVERSIONS

WANT HELP CREATING KILLER COPY FOR YOUR BUSINESS? GIVE US A CALL ON +44 (0) 203 070 3775

5

INTRODUCTION (PART ONE): THE SECRET TO COPYWRITING

THAT TRULY BOOSTS YOUR PROFITS

“Speak to your audience in their language about what’s in their heart.” – Jonathan Lister

“Make him an offer he can’t refuse.” – Don Vito Corleone

Do you either own a business or work in the marketing department of a business? Yes? Good.

And are you a world class, kick ass copywriter? No? Also good.

This book is for you.

You’ll be able to take the powerful copywriting tools in this book and use them today to increase your conversions, and your profits, dramatically. That’s right, I said dramatically. Even if you have no writing skill at all.

6

In writing this book we’re on a mission. A mission to demystify copywriting and break it down into simple, actionable steps which any business owner or marketing professional can understand and use immediately.

We’ve laid out the world’s most effective copywriting techniques with the crystal clear steps you can take and apply to your existing marketing materials, one-by-one, to supercharge the power of all your customer communications and make more of them buy. Or at least, get in touch with you.

Here is how this book will transform your business – no exaggeration:

If you already have any sort of website or marketing materials, then you already have three things. One, paying customers. Two, prospective customers. Three, words that try to convert the prospects into buyers.

And I’m guessing you’d like more of those conversions. Am I right?

Any marketer or business owner makes this magical change from prospect to buyer happen in two ways. One, the words you say to them face to face. Two, the words you say to them through written or recorded means.

The words you say to them face to face are up to you. The tips here can improve them, but it’s not the focus of this book.

WANT 10% OFF THE BEST ONLINE COPYWRITING COURSE? CLICK HERE

7

But the words you say to your prospective customers through written or recorded means… Those, we can help you with.

Those words are your copywriting. The words on your website, your sales pages, your business cards, your brochures. In your emails, your leaflets, your customer testimonials, your videos, your advertising. On your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.

When you improve these words, you improve your conversions. Simple.

Copywriting is the art and science of improving the use of these words so that your conversions improve. So that more people who come across your company end up buying something. So that more prospects like you, trust you, and believe that your company – and only your company – offers the perfect solution to their problem. The perfect cure to their ailment. The perfect materialization of their hopes, dreams and desires. Whether personal or professional.

In the following pages you will learn how to tweak the words in your marketing most effectively to boost your conversions, in extremely reliable and effective ways.

“But I need to be an experienced copywriter to write super-effective copy!”

Yes. And no.

Effective copywriting is half skill, and half tools. Half art, half science.

http://www.creative-copywriter.net/subscribe-welcome/

8

Actually, the science and tools side of things is the bigger half of it. Which is great for business owners like yourself.

A skill is developed over time by professional copywriters, it’s true. But a tool...

A tool can be used by anyone, copywriter or not. You can use an effective tool right now with no training. You can take a tool, apply it to your marketing, and see the results.

A tool in this case is a component which you insert into your copy. The most powerful webpage or sales letter needs a full range of these components to really work wonders.

I might read your homepage and say, “wait a minute, this component is missing.” Then add that component and voila, your homepage converts a little better.

These tools – these components – of good copywriting have been discovered and developed over many decades in the intensely competitive world of business copywriting and advertising.

They’ve been tested and refined and honed to a cutting edge on the pages of the finest and highest converting sales pages and webpages in the world.

These tools are proven. They work. They simply work.

As your prospect reads through your sales copy or watches your video, emotional and logical changes are happening in their brain. These tools trigger the right

WANT HELP CREATING KILLER COPY FOR YOUR BUSINESS? GET IN TOUCH

9

emotional and logical changes. Stacking them up. Leading them in the right direction.

They greatly enhance the chance that the prospect will decide to buy. Many of them almost irresistibly. In fact;

The 25 copywriting tips in this book are dangerously powerful tools.

I trust that you’re selling a worthy product or service. One that will truly benefit the lives of your customers. Because these tools are so effective that they can do harm in the wrong hands.

If you are not yet already using all 25 of them, then you are in for a treat.

If you are not yet using any of them… oh my. Things are about to get interesting.

As you apply these 25 tools one by one to your marketing materials, each one will make a little – or a big – impact on your conversions. Altogether, as their cumulative impact stacks up, they will have a shocking effect on your conversions.

And on your bottom line.

You see, the first tip you insert could increase your conversions by 5%. The next by 3%. The next one by 7%. The next by 1%. And then the next by 20%. Or 50%. And so on.

Imagine applying all 25 of them to your copy…

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

http://www.creative-copywriter.net/contact-us-now/

10

But before we serve up those juicy tips, here’s a little appetizer. In the first chapter we’ll give you a framework of the essential components of a world class webpage, sales page or any page of copywriting. We call it the SHARPEN Copywriting System. It’s a framework which anyone can use, and which we regularly do, to create a truly devastating piece of copy that turns prospects into paying customers.


11

INTRODUCTION (PART TWO): THIS SHARPEN SYSTEM WILL

MAKE SURE ANY COPYWRITING CONVERTS LIKE CRAZY

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you

made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Over the years, we have developed a system to optimize any marketing material we get our hands on. This is the very first time we are revealing this system to the public, so anyone can take it and put it to use.

We’re called into a business, and asked to improve their copy to improve their sales. Our process is what is laid out in this book. We apply each one of these 25 tools one-by-one, with surgical precision, to our client’s copywriting. Testing all the way.

To implement these tools, and carefully measure their success, we need to know how and where and why each technique will increase a piece of copy. We need to compare every piece of writing against the optimal

12

piece of writing it can become. We want to identify what is missing and how to adjust it.

For this, we use what we call the SHARPEN Copywriting System. It’s a framework that very clearly illustrates and explains what an effective piece of copywriting needs to do.

Here it is in short;

The SHARPEN Copywriting System

S = Snap

Snap the prospect’s attention to you. Grab hold their attention. Stop them in their tracks. Make them pay 100% attention to YOU for at least a few seconds.

H = Hold

Hold their attention for the next crucial 5 to 10 seconds. The Snap and the Hold are everything in copywriting. Without them your prospect won’t even give your offer a chance.

A = Arouse

Arouse their interest and excitement. Draw them in. Make them grateful to be here. They start reading and getting excited, realising this is something for them. This might be just what they’ve been looking for. A solution to a problem they have had for a long time.

R = Remove ‘Buts’


13

Disarm all obstacles in their mind. Remove all reasons to say ‘no’. Anticipate the little voice of doubt that will fire off in their minds as they read, and answer that voice with strong arguments. Disarm, in advance, their possible last minute objections to paying.

P = Pressurize

Intensify their drive to buy now. Crank it up and up and up, with irresistible psychological techniques. After the Snap and Hold this is by far the most important part of any piece of copywriting, yet most business owners neglect it.

With specific proven techniques you can increase the reader’s urge to act tenfold, a hundredfold.

E = Envision

Envision a wonderful future with your product or service. Make it real in their hearts and minds. Remove all fear of the unknown. Make them live and really feel the experience of having their problem removed by your service, or satisfying the desire they crave with your product.

Make them feel and experience it so strongly that not buying right now feels like moving backwards, back to the old painful situation before they discovered you. Like losing something – losing the better life they have just tasted.

N = Nail it

Trigger them hard to take immediate action and buy. Very clearly tell them exactly what to do next. When


14

the previous stages are done well, this stage of getting them to act happens naturally, with ease.

The SHARPEN system explains what you need to do with every single piece of copywriting you have. No matter how small.

As you can see there are 7 stages to it, and we will use the 25 copywriting tools in this book to improve your copywriting many times in all 7 of the stages. For example, tool number 13 will drastically improve the ‘Arouse’ and ‘Pressurize’ components of any piece of copywriting. Tool number 4 will double the ‘Snap’ power of your opening sentences.

Tool 15 hits all 7 stages! That one is HUGE. Tool 21 will help the reader ‘Envision’ your future together, while also nicely removing some obstacles. Tip 25 is the strongest of all, and simply means you will 'Nail It' and sell.

And so on.

Using this system and the 25 tools, we will SHARPEN your copy until it cuts like the favoured blade of a grandmaster sushi chef.

Let’s begin with tool number one.

TIP ONE: PUT YOUR PROSPECT’S BIGGEST PAIN IN THE HEADLINE

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. Unless your headline


15

sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.” — David Ogilvy

This is an absolutely critical part of any webpage or sales page. Yet so many business owners miss it out.

What is your prospects number one problem which YOU can solve? What keeps them up at night? What gives them a serious headache which they complain about all day and all night? What is their Number One Pain – which YOU are the best solution to?

Take that pain, and put it in the headline. You will instantly jump your conversions.

Why?

Because you will finally have people staying for a moment, and actually reading the rest of your copywriting.

We live in a very busy world where people are distracted and don’t have any time to spare. Your prospects spend all day flicking through the internet, glancing around at things, trying to ignore all the advertising that’s being shoved in their faces on and offline.

You need to master the SNAP.

You must 'Snap' their attention to you. Imagine they are only giving your copy one second of their time. Less even. A mere glance. This is usually the case.


16

What they see in that one second needs to instantly lance straight to their heart. They already have a constant conversation going on in their minds – conscious and unconscious. And their problems are up there near the surface at all times.

If you can first discover your prospect’s number one pain (you should already know this if you are in business and not broke) and then express it in your headline, you will 'Snap' their attention to you. And you have bought 5 or 10 more seconds from them.

With this, you instantly show them you understand their pain. That is critical. Without it, you are just another headline shouting at them, which has nothing to do with them. They won’t read another line.

If you don’t know how to word your title, you can just keep it really simple and say: ‘Do you suffer from __(Problem)___?”

This is a tools course, not a writing skills course. But the message is more important than pretty wording. It’s best to mention their number one problem and how you offer a unique surprisingly easy solution, all in the headline. But however you word it, however simply, always mention their biggest pain up there, bang in the title.

Got it in yours? If not, put this book down and go get it in there. Watch your conversions jump skywards.


17

TIP TWO: SHORT FIRST SENTENCE“The beginning either forges an instant connection with

the reader, or the package fails.” – Robert Bly

Now that you have 'Snapped' a prospect’s attention to you, you have only won yourself a few seconds. Imagine everything goes into slow motion, like in the movie, The Matrix.

Their eyes fell across your headline, something in it gripped a deep unconscious part of their brain – telling them this could be important for them. It relates to their life, to their pain. Their irises dilate. Chemicals begin to change in their brains.

Their eyes don’t move on, they stay on your copy. You have earned 5 seconds. Those seconds are counting down.

Their eyes fall to the first line of your copy. Your entire job with the first line of your copy is to get them to read it and continue down into the second, third and later lines.

You must 'HOLD' them for those first few seconds, as your later lines begin to do their work and 'AROUSE' their interest and excitement. But first, you must 'HOLD' them.

The content of your first line comes in the next chapter. But here is a simple trick you should always do in every single piece of copy you write.

18

Make it a short, strong sentence. Short sentences get read fast. The message goes in, the eyes move onto the next sentence. Just like that.

Your prospect has taken that first tiny step onto the slippery slope that goes down and down into your copy and ends in a sale and lifetime of happy business.

Long first sentences risk losing them. They can becomes boring. They turn people off.

Does this sound a bit picky to you? That’s what copywriting is all about. Trust me, take your time and sweat the small stuff, and the big stuff will happen.

So make your first sentence short. And strong. And gripping. And also…

TIP THREE: ELABORATE ON THEIR PAIN, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

“People aren’t interested in you. They’re interested in themselves.” — Dale Carnegie

You have managed to hook them with your first few words, your title, by going straight to the heart of their very real problem. By offering a glimmer of hope. Just enough hope to spend 5 seconds reading your copy.

We’re still in slow motion here, by the way.

You have your 5 seconds. The very next words – your short first sentence and the next few sentences – must


19

'HOLD' them. The very easiest way to ensure this is to elaborate on that number one pain and problem. Talk about it a little more. And talk about the consequences of that problem, on areas of their life and business.

This serves two purposes. One, it truly does hold them. Their mind is gradually forgetting what they were doing 6 seconds before, when they came across your marketing. It is starting to get excited – those neurons are firing off. It’s getting excited because you are showing that you really understand their need, you understand their pain.

And they are feeling it more and more by the second.

They are being held, they are experiencing their pain, and also their first feelings of hope to escape from it. They are starting to feel just a little bit 'AROUSED', in interest and excitement (not the way you’re thinking).

You are here buying yourself the next 20 seconds. They are moving further down the slippery slope into your copywriting.

For these first few sentences, make them short. And make them address the very real consequences of their biggest problem (which you can solve in a uniquely awesome way). Try to use detail only someone would know who had themselves experienced the same problem. That way you start to create trust too.

Go read your first few lines after the title. How powerfully do they grip the reader’s heart? How honestly do they lance to a deep pain they crave to leave behind?


20

Make the adjustments you need to make. It’s critical, you have to hold them.

Next, one of two things. Tip 4 or tip 5. It’s time to start cranking that excitement right up.

TIP FOUR: TELL YOUR STORY – CREATE CREDIBILITY, TRUST AND LIKING"Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make,

but about the stories that you tell ." – Seth Godin

If a story applies to you and your business, now is the moment to use it. After the initial few sentences, or at least not too far into the copy. If this doesn’t apply to yourself or your business, I highly recommend you change that fast and create a story. A story is a beauty of a selling tool.

Tell it quickly. And in a way that serves the purpose of creating credibility, trust and liking. Tell them you used to have their problem. Or the creator of your product used to have their problem. Tell them how similar you are to them.

Remember, your prospect is feeling pain, because of how you 'Snapped' their attention and 'Held' them using their pain. So now you tell your story and in it they experience their story. Your story carries on the pain for a moment, then moves straight into the solution which you created, discovered or developed over time. As you bring them out of their pain, they


21

are experiencing this recovery with you.

Remember, this is all in the first 5 to 10 seconds. We’re still in slow mo.

They like and trust you. They feel that you truly understand them and they become open and receptive to the rest of your copy. They start to feel real, deep excitement at experiencing your own recovery from the problem you both shared.

They see light at the end of the tunnel. They see light at the end of your sales page, and are willing to travel further to find out what it is.

Extra tip here (see Tip 9) – throw in some authority and evidence of your credentials in the story if you can. Mention something that makes you an expert. Also (see Tip 8) throw in some social proof, say how your solution has help thousands just like them. In these words or different.

Now you have them. And if you don’t, the next tip will ensure it.


22

TIP FIVE: PROVE TO THEM WHY YOU ARE A UNIQUE AND UNDOUBTEDLY THE BEST AVAILABLE SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM

“Tell me the problem I have that you are the best solution too.” – Joel Roberts

This tip alone is worth a hundred times the price of this book. Pay careful attention. It’s something most business owners do not do well, if at all. And that’s great for us, because your competition will most likely not be doing it either. So you can use this tip to wipe the floor with them.

This is your number one tool to 'AROUSE' your readers. Before I go into what it is and how to do it, remember, this is all still in the first 5 to 10 seconds!

You’re using all your big guns here, right at the start. If you don’t use them now, you won’t have any more time to convince them later on. Because they will leave.

Tell them very clearly why you are the best solution – using words that your prospect cares about enough to pay you extra for.

In marketing jargon this is called expressing your Unique Selling Proposition (your USP). But we don’t like this expression because we feel it has become too


23

confused and vague and mixed up with other things which are not your USP.

If you can express a real, truly powerful USP, you will command higher conversions and also you will never have to compete on price again. Your USP is what makes you worth paying extra for over your competition.

An effective USP is quite simple. And it needs five things:

1. A very clear reason why your solution is betterthan your competition

2. A reason that your customers care about, enoughto pay you extra for it

3. Very clear evidence that this feature is true

4. None of your competition also have this feature

5. This feature / reason must be very clearly andeasily expressed in words your customerinstantly understands

Do not miss out any of these components. If you don’t have evidence, it won’t work. If one of your competitors offers the same thing, it isn’t USP. If you know it, have it ready, but are expressing it in a confusing or unclear way, then it will not work.

If you think you have a great USP but your customer is not prepared to pay you extra for this specific feature, then it is not USP.

24

This past point is critical – most business owners have no idea what their USP is.

Equally, most business owners do in fact have a powerful USP. But they have not yet uncovered or created it. Or they know what it is, but they have not yet expressed it very early on with real clarity in their copywriting and marketing materials.

How to uncover your most powerful selling tool

This is how you discover your USP, and how to express it the right way. Follow these steps exactly:

1. Brainstorm by yourself all your ideas about what it could be. This is a necessary step, but not enough alone. You likely don’t know it yet.Be brutally honest with yourself. Does any of your competition also offer each of your ideas? If they do, scrap it, or think of a way you can do it better.

2. Brainstorm with your people – your team and employees. Truly listen to them, they are a powerful resource. Especially listen very carefully to what your top salespeople have to say.Ask them what it is that they usually say to disarm objections, to explain how you are the best option. What do they say that is usually the last thing that clinches the deal with a prospective client? Your USP is likely to be one of these things, or very close


25

3. Study your competition closely. Again, thisstep is hard to do. Most business owners do notlike to recognize how great their competition is.It’s a way to stay tough and confident. Buthonestly, carefully study them and theirmarketing materials. What do they offer that isabove and beyond what you offer? And visa versa– what do you offer that they don’t and can’t?

4. Ask your clients! Your existing and pastcustomers are your most valuable resource. Askthem what they think is the thing that makes yourservice special, over the competition. Ask themwhy they chose you. Ask them why they didn’tchoose someone else. Ask them what they wouldlike you to offer (you really should be doing thison a regular basis anyway).

5. Articulate your first ideas of what your USPmight be. By now you should have a very strongidea of what makes you special in a way thecustomer cares about. If you simply realize thereis nothing at all, then I am surprised you are stillin business, and I bet you that you spend a greatdeal of time competing on price. Am I right?

If you really don’t have any USP, make one. Youhave a lot of info now from this process. Youknow what clients care about and what thecompetition is offering. Create a USP that blowsthem out of the water.

6. Express your USP really, really clearly. Usethe same words that your clients used when they


26

7. were talking to you about it. Ask your top salespeople if that’s the way they would say it tosomeone. Make it clear, strong andunambiguous.

Now, go put your USP smack bang in your copy, right up there at the top. At least in the first 5 seconds of reading. If not right in the headline alongside the number one problem!

Put your newly articulated USP loud and clear in every single bit of marketing materials you invest in. And enjoy the sudden surge in conversions and revenue.

If they don’t, then sorry you don’t have a real USP. Or perhaps it is expressed unclearly. Go back to square one. Repeat until you have one. It’s one of the most powerful processes any business owner can go through and it will supercharge all your copywriting.

Those first 5 magnificent copywriting tips were delivered in a kind of order. You can use them to begin your analysis of any piece of copywriting. Particularly the opening words.

The following 20 tips are all also extremely powerful, and they don’t necessarily come in any particular order relating to the copywriting itself. Just take them one by one, carry them out, implement them, and watch your business transform.

The next tip is hands down the best copywriting tip for any non-skilled copywriter to carry out. It’s something of a hidden gem of advice in the copywriting world. Use it with care.


27

TIP SIX: GET YOUR NUMBER ONE SALESPERSON TO SELL TO YOU“Copywriting is simply salesmanship in writing.” – Alex

Mandossian

This trick is beautiful. Take your best salesman or woman aside. The one who converts the most, who makes the most money for you. The one who really knows how to sell you’re product. This might even be you!

Then sit them down and tell them to sell you the service or product. Get them to truly sell it to you with all their passion. Determined to make you buy.

Record the whole thing (if you are your number one salesperson, then sell to someone else and record it). Ask them what the top 5 objections they get are. Say this to them and get them to work round them. Record it all.

Get this recording transcribed, and you will have there a truly excellent piece of copywriting. It will read well, because it will sound just like someone is talking directly to you. And the key benefits, which the customers really care about, will be right up there at the top. Objections will be dealt with. It will close strongly.

Your piece of copywriting will be 80% done right there. You only need to clean it up, and then add in as many of these tips as you can just to supercharge it. You may well find that many of the tools in this book are already in


28

there! Most salespeople either consciously or unconsciously understand these principles and their power to persuade.

Seriously, try out this tip. It’s a wonderful resource and as a bonus you will have a perfect transcript to give to all your other salespeople and employees. You might even learn a thing or two yourself!

The next tip is a true classic. We see it all the time everywhere, because it works like crazy. And if you aren’t using this right now all the time, you’re crazy too, and leaving money on the table, under the table, all over the room.

TIP SEVEN: USE CUSTOMER STORIES AND TESTIMONIALS, IN ALL YOUR COPYWRITING AND MARKETING"Testimonials are enough to convince people for now." –

Alex Chiu

Most business owners have a few customer testimonials lying around, or hidden away on their ‘testimonials’ page, for the prospects to dig around and find. They think this is enough.

Well no, it isn’t.

This is perhaps your most powerful copywriting tool, because it is someone else talking about you. It is the


29

prospect’s peer telling them why to work with you. It’s almost as good as having a personal friend of the customer whispering in their ear.

And you’ve got it hidden away in your website!!??

Create customer stories and testimonials, and put them right up there near the top of your copy. Right there above the fold on your website. All over your leaflets. Even on your business card.

You want the first thing every customer sees, after the 'SNAP' and headline, to be a smiling happy customer who is just like them telling them how happy they are that they chose you and why.

Just do it. It’s crazy not to. Studies have proven that people trust the words of strangers similar to them over 5 times more than advertising. And the amazing thing is that this includes strangers you have obviously chosen and put up there in front of them. It doesn’t matter that you are showing them the testimonial or customer story. The psychological impact is the same.

Use testimonials – they convert!

A customer story (aka a ‘case study’) is like a more developed testimonial. It’s a one or two page article describing the customer’s entire journey before and after choosing your business. You can send these to prospects, have them on your website. You can use them for any marketing really.

I’d say a super-powerful way to combine these is have a customer testimonial or two right up there in your copy

30

or on your webpage, then a link for the reader to go and read the whole story – so a link to the full customer story.

Testimonials and customers stories can increase your 'Hold', your 'Arouse', your 'Remove' stages. They can help your prospect to 'Envision' the future with you. They can even 'Pressurize' and crank up the power of your copy, they certainly add a ton of social proof (see Tip 12).

There’s an extra powerful tip with testimonials: you can read through these tools and apply them inside the testimonial. For example, make the speaker a doctor to add authority (see tip 9), you can use their words to enhance your credibility (see Tip 19), you can even start creating comparison pressure with their words (see Tip 13).

Use your imagination. Think of the effect you’d like their words to have. Choose key customers and past customers, and actually word the testimonials for them. Ask them if you can use that. You’d be surprised, most people will be happy if you ask them first!

The next tip leads on nicely from this. One of the most powerful psychological tools to 'Pressurize' the power of your copywriting like you wouldn’t believe.


31

TIP EIGHT: USE SOCIAL PROOF IN YOUR COPYWRITING“We will use the actions of others to decide on proper behavior for ourselves, especially when we view those

others as similar to ourselves.” – Robert B. Cialdini

We see this all the time, but we may not even notice it. We do however, respond to it.

Our brains are hardwired to judge the wisdom of a decision, taking into account what other people are thinking and doing. Especially other people similar to us, or people in a position of authority.

We don’t easily admit this. But it’s a concept that drives our lives. Indeed, most people make most of their decisions based entirely on looking around and seeing and feeling what others are doing. Study after study has proven the overarching power of this factor of influence in our lives. If you haven’t read Robert Cialdini’s book ‘Influence’ you really must, for the sake of your business and the quality of your life in general.

Read over your copy and just think to yourself, ‘is there social proof in here in any form?’

Social proof might be mentioning that many other people have used or are using your service. It might be a picture of other people happy and using your product. Testimonials are strong social proof. Mentioning that


32

you’re market leader in any sort of niche makes it clear that many other people are using you.

Mentioning that you’ve been interviewed on NBC or any media channel is huge social proof. Or talking about famous clients, celebrity endorsements like the pictures you see on a barber’s wall. Huge, huge social proof.

And another classic method that works wonders is telling them who else is buying right now. This gives the reader a massive feeling of both social proof and scarcity and limitations (see Tip 14).

There are many ways of doing this. Online you can tell them you sold 100 items today, only 50 left, etc.

In one famous example an online advert tripled the call ins by simply changing the wording of the call to action. Instead of ‘our operators are waiting to take your call’ they said ‘if our operators are busy with other customers, please wait, we’ll try to get to you quickly.’

So think of three ways you can quickly insert social proof into your copywriting. Even a simple sentence here and there. And you will seriously intensify the power of your words. Your reader will want to buy more, without even knowing why. It’s a huge tool for the 'Pressurize' stage of copywriting. Use it.

And use the next tip too. It’s an equally powerful pressurizing force to make your prospects want to buy.


33

TIP NINE: SHOW AUTHORITY, DOUBLE THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS

“It is not wisdom but Authority that makes a law.” – Thomas Hobbes

We have evolved over millions of years in small tribes where, if we did not follow the leader, it meant almost certain death. That leaves quite a mark on the human psyche.

Like it or not we are hardwired to trust the views and commands of anyone we perceive to be in a position of authority. We simply listen to them more readily. It’s natural, in most areas of our lives this tendency serves us well.

Take a look at your copywriting. Is there anything at all in there that gives you or your business the feel of an authority figure in society? If not, put something in there.

This could be your qualifications, loud and clear. Your experience, with proof. Your pictures too. Dress in a way that shows a person at the top. A good suit is a deeply ingrained symbol of authority. As is a scientist’s lab coat or a doctor's jacket.

The image of your marketing materials and website can create authority. What is on there, how does it look and feel? If you add charts and graphs to copywriting, or


34

footnotes to academic studies. All these add a feel of authority.

You can create authority by showing a link to your book on Amazon. This is hugely powerful. Authors are authorities in a market, everyone knows that.

Don’t have a book yet? Well, that’s another subject altogether. But I highly recommend you get one made.

Find a way to put authority into your copywriting, and you will greatly intensify the impact all your words have. You 'Pressurize'. And as a result, your conversions increase.

This step and all the ones up until now will get the reader nodding along. And that is the key to the next deadly copywriting tip.

TIP TEN: USE CONSISTENCY, GET THEM SAYING ‘YES, YES, YES’

“We all fool ourselves from time to time in order to keep our thoughts and beliefs consistent with what we

have already done or decided.” – Robert Cialdini

We all feel compelled to continue in the same direction we have begun. It’s human nature to simply want to remain consistent and even more importantly, to be seen to be consistent.

In sales and charity work, there is a very powerful trick to get someone to agree to a very small thing early.


35

Then later to ask for the larger action – like the sale or donation. Positive responses to the second request are always far higher if they prospects have already agreed and verbally or in action taken a very small step or two in that direction already.

How can you use this in your copy?

There are two main ways you can use this concept to increase the power of your copywriting.

Of course in copywriting, you can’t get the person to say ‘yes’ to you because you’re not face-to-face… or can you?

Actually, you can. When you ask someone a question and they nod their head, or inside they say ‘yes, that’s me’ or ‘yes, I agree’ then they have taken a very small step in your direction.

We call this the ‘yes, yes, yes’ principle. Or the ‘yes ladder.’ Before your reader arrives at your call to action, make sure that they have had reason to nod and think to themselves ‘yes’ at least three times. Might not sound like much, but it’s very powerful. Try it out.

The great philosopher Aristotle famously used this technique to win arguments against anyone. He would begin by stating things that got them to start saying yes, and as the argument continued they soon found themselves saying yes to things they would otherwise have disagreed with. It’s pure conversational aikido.

The second way you can use consistency in your copywriting is by getting them to remember a time when they acted in the direction you want them to act.

36

This is really the same as getting them to do it there and then. For example, if your product is related to financial education, you can mention and remind them of times they have invested money in their financial education and had a wonderful result in their lives because of it. Perhaps remind them they felt hesitation in the past, but after the decision they realised it was the correct one.

Take a look over your copywriting and think of any way you can put at least one form of consistency by getting them to remember a time when they took a similar action to the one you are about to ask them to take. And also get them to say ‘yes’ three times as they read. Even with very simple questions like ‘Do you have this problem?’ ‘Do you want to get rid of it?’ And so on.

Also, you can get the reader to take very small actions. Ask them to click a button, to go to the next page. If they comply they have taken a small step in the right direction. Tell them to download your free report. If they comply, once again, they are moving in the right direction.

Think about small steps you can get your readers or visitors to take that gets them dong what you ask. Make them take a few small actions before you ask them to take the big one and buy, you will see how many more people do what you ask.

Sounds simple, but it will help to seriously Pressurize the psychological power of your copy and increase conversions. The next tip is very closely related and even more powerful.


37

TIP ELEVEN: GET THEM TO MAKE A COMMITMENT IN THEIR MIND

“A foot in the door leads to great strides.” – Steve J. Martin

Wrapped up with the powerful psychological trigger of consistency is that of commitment. If we commit in any shape or form to taking a certain action, or being a certain type of person, or following a certain route in life, then we feel a powerful urge to continue down that path and fulfil that commitment. Especially if others know about it.

You can look at your copy and think, ‘how can I get the reader to either commit in their minds to moving in the direction I desire, or remember that they have already committed to moving in that direction?’

One technique you may see often in online copywriting and sales videos is thanking you for taking the time to read or watch this, because it shows that you are this type of person ‘who will not rest and put up with your problem, and will do whatever it takes to improve your life and the lives of your family’ etc.

This is sometimes called ‘qualifying’ the prospect. You are telling them you respect them for being the type of person who is adventurous, who takes action quickly and decisively, who takes risks, who invests in improving their lives. Basically, tell them many admirable things that they are, which they will be


38

happily agreeing to in their minds, and which are all the kinds of attributes which someone who will buy today has.

It’s powerful. Think about how you can use it.

Also, just like the previous tip, get them to remember a time when they acted quickly and invested money in this area of their lives. When they took a step forward and seized a golden opportunity and it all paid off.

Think of any way, no matter how subtle or brazen, that you can put at least one element of this into your copy. And you will give your conversions another little (or big) push.

By now your copy is getting seriously dangerous, wouldn’t you agree? But believe me, we have only just begun. The next tip is one of the best ways to get the prospect to agree to a price point. And it’s also incredibly easy for anyone to implement.

TIP TWELVE: CREATE MULTIPLE PRICE COMPARISONS, EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL

“No man is happy but by comparison.” – Thomas Shadwell

Our minds work in comparisons. It’s simply the way we see the world. We find it impossible to make a decision without making comparisons, but at the same time our brains are not well designed to keep a true picture of all the options out there.


39

What this means is that your prospect’s perception of your price point is good or bad. Bargain or expensive. Too low or too high. Their idea of this is largely dependent on the other prices they have encountered or agreed to recently.

Our minds are literally that simple. For example, clothes shops selling gloves and belts and socks don’t put them at the front of a shop. If you walk straight into a shop and you see a pair of gloves for $15, you may think it is a bit much. But when you have walked through the store and picked up a few tops and pairs of jeans, you’ve prepared to spend a couple of hundred dollars. Now, as you go to the cashier, you see the gloves for Only $15. It seems nothing by comparison. And because of this illogical way of seeing numbers, far more customers buy the gloves.

Even if you don’t quite get a feel for this one, trust that it works.

At the very least, don’t ever give one price straight up. Say it used to be this much, and now it’s only this much.

Just doing this will increase your conversions I guarantee it. But there are many more ways of using price comparisons to increase conversions, and you see them all the time… because they work.

You could talk about how expensive the alternative solution to their problem is. In fact, always do this. There is always some more expensive solution. Probably more ineffective too.


40

You can give two discounts. What it used to be and what it is now. And wait… this week only, it is half the price of that! Because you are doing a test run, or you have the last in stock. Always try to give a reason for discounts, they convert more that way. This also uses a nice bit of limitation (see Tip 14).

You can talk about the prices of your competitors all you like. Always mentioning how much more value the customer gets with you.

And another effective technique is to give one price, and next to that give a lower price if they buy in bulk. For example almost all successful membership-based services offer a discount if the customer pays for one year in advance. You could also offer a buy two, get one free option. This is just another form of a price comparison discount.

Look at your offer now, and however simply you do it, add in one form of comparison to a higher price. Just see how much more attractive it instantly makes your price point. And once again, your conversions will jump.

Comparison is one of Robert Cialdini’s and most world-class marketers’ most powerful principles of influence. And it doesn’t just apply to price. The next tip will show you how else to use it to crank your Pressurizing right up, off the charts.


41

TIP THIRTEEN: COMPARISON OF VALUE, IN EVERY SENSE

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." – Warren Buffett

Have you ever been to buy or rent a house through an estate agent? Do you remember the very first place they showed you?

Almost certainly, the first house they showed you was absolutely rubbish, and far too expensive. Then they showed you the next place, which was decent and well-priced.

But the thing is, whether you like it or not, the second place looked better value to you than if they had taken you straight there in the first place. Every estate agent in the world uses this trick, because it works. Even on people who know about the trick!

Like we talked about in the last chapter, comparison works. Never leave it out of your copywriting. Ever.

Find at least one way you can compare your product or service to other alterative options. These can be direct competition, or non-direct alternative solutions to your customer’s problem.

Also, you can create this estate-agent style sense of comparison as you move through the sales page or

42

your webpage. As long as you Snap and Hold and Arouse them successfully, you can then begin talking about your great offer. It is strong, it is exciting, it is unique. It is good value.

The reader is already nodding, and considering it.

Then suddenly, you reveal that it is ten times better than they thought! It is in fact, simply amazing. You have held back the big guns until now.

Their mouth starts to water.

You are still talking, using all the tips in this book to create massive internal drive to buy in their unconscious mind. Then you hit them with another boost upward! Some incredible bonuses, which have even more value than the original offering create the same effect (see Tip 15).

The part of their brain which uses comparisons to make decisions is telling them this offer is incredible. They are not objectively, calmly comparing it to all else out there anymore, nor to their financial situation and all the other options, and the priority of this problem against all the other things they could be investing in at the moment.

They are only seeing it glowing in their mind’s eye, because compared to what they were thinking about 10 seconds ago, it feels incredible value. For better or for worse, that’s just the way the human brain works.

Take advantage of it. Look at your copy and think how you can insert three examples of comparison in there. It’s too powerful a tool to leave out.


43

The next tool is sitting right in the middle of the book. And it’s truly one that sits and the centre of every great piece of copywriting or sales material. We’ve all fallen prey to it, and we’ve all used it to make something more attractive. Now let’s see how you can use it to make your copywriting truly lethal.

TIP FOURTEEN: CREATE LIMITATIONS – USE SCARCITY TO SKYROCKET YOUR CONVERSIONS

“We all want what we can’t have.” – Unknown

We all know that feeling, when you think you can’t have something because it’s running out, suddenly you want it real bad. This is especially powerful if you think you’re going to miss out because other people are getting in there first.

If your prospect is reading your copywriting, and they are seriously considering buying. They are wavering on the point of yes or no. And then at that point you suddenly tell them there is some sort of limitation. Their mind will respond by hiking up their desire and lessening any doubts.

Their unconscious mind will give the thing far more value, the moment it feels it is scarce. In our evolutionary past this was a good method of knowing the value of things. Today it is not so useful to us, but as


44

a business owner you can make very good use of it. Very good use indeed.

And you know how effective it is because you see it everywhere you go.

I’ll keep the implementation of this tip very simple. Look at your copy and think of one way you can limit either the number of people who can sign up and buy. Or limit the time an offer is available for. This could be just that the entire offer is only open for a certain amount of time. Or if can be a special bonus only available for this amount of time. A very effective technique to add limitation to your offer is to say the first 100 people who buy will get some fantastic bonus.

Limit your offer or limit the time the offer is available for. Nothing cranks up the intensity and Pressurizes an offer more.

And there is one more important step to effective limitation. Always give a reason for your limitation. It doesn’t have to be an amazing reason. But you must always give a reason. Just say ‘because…’ and something. For some reason or other this makes scarcity twice as powerful, and disarms the logical part of your reader’s brain that tells them you are only saying this limitation to get them to buy now.


45

TIP FIFTEEN: ADD BONUSES – TEN TIMES THE VALUE OF THE OFFER

“Our jobs as marketers are to understand how the customer wants to buy and help them do so.” – Bryan

Eisenberg

We’ve talked about bonuses already quite a bit. So let’s get it nice and clear how to do bonuses so that your conversions hike upwards.

Bonuses simply work, in almost any business under the sun. If you add a bonus to your copywriting it will increase conversions most of the time.

But, this will only work on the condition that the bonus is genuinely something the prospect would pay for anyway. Don’t add crap to your offer, it will actually decrease conversions, and rightly so.

Ideally give a bonus of incredible value. Ten times or more that of the actual offer.

A good way to do this is give a digital bonus, which costs no more to you no matter how many people you give it to. Another way is to give something that is of great value, to them And to you.

For example, a 30 minute free consultation. This is amazingly valuable to the prospect. It is also amazingly valuable to you. It gives you a very high quality 30 minutes of market research – you can find out what


46

they need, what your USP should be, what they are willing to pay for and more.

Better yet, this 30-minute consultation is a fantastic opportunity to sell them something bigger. Simply uncover and clarify their problems, throughout the consultation get them to confirm that if that problem could be removed they would pay for it. And at the end say the magic words;

‘So just to summarise (repeat all their problems back to them). And based on what you have been telling me the best next course of action is you start visits on Monday…’ or ‘… you take the free trial…’ or ‘you use this product once a week for a month and record the results.’

You automatically assume the sale. But that’s another subject for another book.

Possible problem with bonuses and how to remove it

When you add the bonus, make sure you test the effect on conversions. As you should be testing everything. Sometimes adding a bonus to your offering can seem to devalue the original offer, making it seem like it’s not worth the price point on its own. And you have to add something to it to make it worthwhile. This will reduce your conversions.

It all depends on how well you have constructed and 'SHARPENED' your piece of copywriting. But a good way to alleviate this risk is to say you will give your free bonuses (your free consultations) to the first 100


47

customers only. That way it comes across more as a nice bonus to get sales going.

But like always, test and see. Test and see. And with any bonus chances are very high you will see a nice big boost in profits.

The next tip is the one that really greases the slope all the way into your sales funnel. It’s how to deal with the ‘REMOVE BUTS’ section of your copy.

TIP SIXTEEN: ADDRESS AND REMOVE ALL OBJECTIONS IN YOUR PROSPECT’S MIND

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” - Samuel Johnson

The initial stages of the SHARPEN model have gotten your reader flying down your sales page, more and more excited to buy as they go along. Your finely honed 'Snap', 'Hold', 'Arouse' and 'Pressurize' stages are extremely powerful, using the tips so far and a few more to come.

One of the biggest tripping points of any piece of copywriting is that prospective customers will have a big reason, a big logical excuse, not to buy right there and then. Or not to buy at all.

More often than not, it’s the same 3 or 4 reasons again and again and again. If you have been in business or sales for any amount of time you’ll know this is true.

48

You also should know the most common 3 or 4 objections your prospects give. And you should even know how to answer them if you’re face to face, so that they forget about them and move on past.

Most business owners forget to put these ‘objection removers’ into the writing on their website, or in their marketing material. Even though they know that the prospects will always be thinking of them!

Well, there’s an elephant in the room my friend. And it’s time to shoot it.

You know the prospect’s objection – his ‘BUT.’ They know what it is too. Make sure that you are the first one to bring it up and talk about it. Put it into your copywriting. Not at the start. Halfway through, after your main selling points. Or nearer to the end, when those obstacles will start to be loud and clear in their minds.

Just bring the objection up. And answer it. If you don’t already have a great answer, experiment. Say anything. Remind them of all the benefits.

Simply you bringing it up has a magical effect. It alleviates their fear because they see that you know about it. They feel like you’re honest because you’re not afraid to talk about it.

When you bring up the 3 or 4 main objections that prospects give you – reasons not to buy – and you deal with them early on, by the time they reach the call to action those objections will not appear with any


49

strength in their mind. They will be far more likely to buy. You just see those conversions leap.

The next tip will get them so eager to get to the solution, they’ll fly right over objections.

TIP SEVENTEEN: CRANK UP THE PAIN "You need to understand the pain points." – Graham

Brown

Sorry for the slightly masochistic title to this tip. But there really is no better way to express it. This tip will hit all the points of 'SHARPEN', especially the 'Pressurize' section.

Your prospect is experiencing a problem in their lives, which involves some pain. It might be a problem in their business world, or private life, or simply something lacking which they desire. You are the solution to this pain, of course. You are the ideal solution.

The thing to remember is that people do not walk around experiencing the same amount of pain and discomfort all day long. In some moments the pain from this problem will be high, in others they won’t even be noticing it.

The key to super-effective copywriting is to make sure that they are feeling one of those moments on high pain because of that problem in the moment you will get


50

them to buy your solution. And it’s your job to make them feel it.

We spoke about this in the 'Snap' – the title. And also in the 'Hold' section – the first few lines. Where you really describe the problem, and the consequent pain from this problem, in words they really understand and resonate with.

It’s important that you bear this in mind all the way through your copywriting. Take a look at your marketing materials and think, ‘am I making them feel the pain of this problem all the way through in some shape or form?’

Add in a few sentences here and there to remind them of it. To bring it back and make them say in their mind ‘yes, I’m sick of this pain!’ Most importantly right at the beginning and at the end, near the call to action.

When their pain is strong and loud in their minds, and your solution is right there, just a quick click and pay away, they will take the action you want them to. If the pain is vague and they’re not really feeling it, then their logical mind might stop them. Don’t let that happen.

Crank up the pain. Don’t feel bad, you’re about to cure it!

The next tip will be one of two that touch on your writing style – don’t worry, it’s very clear and actionable! A crystal clear tip you can follow even if you hate writing.


51

TIP EIGHTEEN: USE SHORT, SIMPLE, STRONG WORDS AND SENTENCES

“Good writing should be transparent, like a window pane.” – George Orwell

“If you can’t explain it to a 6-year old, you don’t know it yourself.” – Albert Einstein

Don’t worry. I promised at the start that this book is not for writers and copywriters. It’s for business owners who don’t like writing, don’t have time for writing, or just don’t want to write.

However, if you’ll forgive me I’d like to give you one quick tip on writing style. Just this one because if you can look over your copy and make these changes, it is so effective it is almost definitely going to increase your conversions.

The best writing sounds like decisive talking. That counts for all kinds of writing, and copywriting especially. Listen to yourself or a friend when you talk excitedly about something. You don’t use long, convoluted sentences that drag on. You don’t try to use very intelligent-sounding words.

You just talk fast. You use short, strong sentences. You use simple words. You just want to get the point across hard. Without boring your friend.


52

So in your copywriting – whether it’s your website, your sales page, your leaflet or anything else – make sure that the whole style of writing is very short, clear and punchy.

The easiest way for you to do this is to go through and think, is this paragraph too long? Break all paragraphs up into 3 or 4 sentences maximum. Just two, or even one sentence is fine.

Use bullets and headers where you can. The reason for this is that it not only makes it easier for the reader to move through your page, absorbing your message. It also makes it look appealing to read at a glance. Imagine you are busy, you are bored, you suddenly see a headline that looks really interesting. Then underneath that headline you see huge blocks of small text. Just going on and on.

It’s unappealing, isn’t it! It just looks like too much work.

But if you glance down and see very short paragraphs, nicely broken up with lists of bullet-points and nice big sub-headlines, which also sounds really interesting. Then you think, ‘ok, this seems easy to glance through, let’s give it a few seconds.’ And you begin reading it.

Make it easy on your prospect to read. Go look at your copywriting now and see what it looks like at a glance – big, intimidating blocks of text? Or nice, little paragraphs mixed with interesting sub-headlines?

About sentence length. Make all sentences shorter. Look at the way I write in this book. I use the period as


53

often as possible. It’s a powerful way to write. Just look through your copywriting and if you see any long sentences try to break them into two or three sentences. Often, instead of a comma, you can just use a period instead. It will make the whole page easier to read.

And about using simple words. It is often tempting to use long, intelligent-sounding words in your copy, but actually this stops and turns off quite a few people. It makes your copywriting harder to read. And no one minds short, simple words. In fact, the world’s greatest copywriters always write in a way that an 11-year old could understand.

If you have an exciting message, then people just want to hear it. And they flow through a page of simple words, all the way to the call to action at the end. So take a look at your copy right now, find those long, slightly difficult words and try to replace them with very short, simple words. Your conversions will jump as a result.

One last point on writing style (I promise), try not to ramble. If you see any paragraphs which are not strictly related to the service, your prospects pain, their experience as they use your solution, or any of the tips in this book, then cut that sentence or paragraph out. Rambling will lose you readers and reduce your conversions, without a doubt.

There, that’s all I’m going to say about writing style. Back onto more straight-forward copywriting tools you can just take and insert into your copy. The next tip is a real critical one. Take a look and put it to use.

54

TIP NINETEEN: PROVE YOUR CREDIBILITY“Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.”

– Andrew Davis

Every single piece of copywriting should always have some evidence of your credibility in there. People are constantly scanning, consciously and unconsciously, for signs and proof that the person talking to them is credible and worth trusting and listening to.

You can demonstrate credibility in many ways. This tip overlaps with authority, but there is more to credibility as well.

Credibility can be you explaining how you have gone through exactly their experience, and pulled out the other side. It could be showing your professional credentials. It could be showing any kind of proof that you have got the results you claim to have. Or that you have helped so many people using your service or product.

You create credibility any time you give evidence of what you are claiming your service can do, or who your company is, or what you have achieved. Any sort of evidence at all.

Look at your copywriting and try to find instances where you claim something but there is not proof of it. Write down ways you could demonstrate that you really know what you are talking about, or ways you can show that your claims are rock solid.


55

Many things already mentioned in this book can bolster your credibility. Testimonials are a great example. References to any media coverage are too. And any kind of visual proof of your results work wonders, giving all your arguments and words far more power.

We’re into the last 6 tips now, but do not think that they are less important because they are last. Not at all! In fact these last six tips I would say are some of the most impactful ones of all. The next one in particular you will recognise and know well. It’s used everywhere because it works very very well.

Are you making use of it?

TIP TWENTY: GIVE THEM A TEST RUN, A FREE TRIAL!

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

Why do you think pet shops let you take the puppy home for your kids to play with for 3 days before deciding?

Why do you think the only aim of a car salesman is to get you to take a test run?

If you remember the Envision stage of the SHARPEN system, we haven’t talked about it much yet. But it is an


56

extremely powerful element that should not be left out of any piece of copywriting if possible.

When you talk about allowing the reader to test and trial your product or service, you hit all sorts of buttons that helps to jump conversions. It’s deep human psychology that we act more readily when risk and fears are reduced. We also dislike the unknown.

Giving a free trial period – even just mentioning it – greatly helps us to start to really imagine our lives with this product in it. It removes all kinds of obstacles in our minds. So we are more likely to go ahead and try it out, especially if the copywriting is so powerful because it has all the other elements in this book.

Then, a second huge psychological urge kicks in. We hate going backwards, and when we feel like we have something we hate to lose it. At the point when your prospect is trying your product they are truly Envisioning it in their lives. They are smiling and feeling the wonderful feeling of their problem having disappeared. They are seeing how it all is different from now on. All obstacles are long gone and forgotten.

The puppy has become part of the family.

Then, when you ask for payment, the pain of loss and moving backward stacks on top of all the other arguments and selling techniques and simply makes it incredibly hard to say no. It becomes a no-brainer to pay. Part of them feels like they have already decided to pay when they agreed to the free trial.


57

Another huge advantage of giving a test run is that for the next few hours, days or weeks, you have time with them. Like the puppy in the family, playing with the kids. You have more time than this one piece of copywriting to convince them, to repeat and rub in all the arguments, to remove the obstacles and any resistance. A free trial buys you time to persuade.

The result? A huge, huge increase in conversions.

That’s why we see free trials and test runs everywhere in successful businesses. Make sure your copywriting offers this in some shape or form, or you’re missing out big time!

There are two more ways to powerfully trigger the 'Envision' principle and the 'Remove ‘Buts’' principle. The next tip will show you how to do it with a few words alone.

TIP TWENTY ONE: DEMONSTRATE YOUR SOLUTION – LET THEM LIVE IT IN THEIR MIND’S EYE

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.” – William Arthur

Ward

In just the words of your copywriting you can quickly create a demonstration, using an example very similar to your prospect. As they read or see a video that


58

demonstrates with a subject, the prospect is in fact living the experience, imagining themselves in that situation.

Their unconscious mind is going through a kind of mini-trial right there and then. It gives a very nice boost to your Envision stage, and your Remove Buts, and even Social Proof and Pressurize stages.

And it can be quite simple. You don’t have to be clever with words or explain why you’re doing it. Just at some point in your copywriting, say;

“To illustrate exactly how this works, here’s a quick demonstration.”

Or:

“Watch this demonstration video.”

Or:

“For example…”

Just say it and show it. Show them your solution in action, doing exactly what they dream it can do, completely removing their problem, right before their eyes.

The most powerful way to use demonstration is to combine with a customer story. Case studies or whole-page customer stories are in fact very detailed demonstrations. This doubles the impact of the demonstration because it is a third party talking and they are giving great social proof. You can even make it a doctor or a well-known brand or individual in your


59

market and add a heavy dose of authority to the demonstration.

See how powerful these tips are once you start to crank them up?

Even as powerful as this tip and the last one are, the next tip is probably the most devastating way to push prospects over into buying.

TIP TWENTY TWO: SUPERCHARGE CONVERSIONS WITH GUARANTEE

"The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." – Mark Zuckerberg

There are few better ways to boost conversions than with a guarantee. A free all-costs-covered, money back guarantee.

Do not fear money-back guarantees!

Remember, a money-back guarantee is just another way of giving them a free trail, but it is even stronger. People who buy the product have already paid you, and your solution is already 100% in their lives, solving their problem. This is even stronger psychologically than a free trial.

There are many reasons why people hate to claim on guarantees, especially if your product or service get

60

anywhere near solving their problems in the way that you promised.

If you have a good offering, give a guarantee. There is no reason not to. In one fell swoop you remove all fear and obstacles. Whatever they say, you can just go: ‘well, look I am so confident that this is the right thing for you that I’ll take all the risk on myself. If you’re not 100% happy in 30 days I’ll return all your money.’

A guarantee can take the form of a warranty too. This is just a different form of guarantee. That if your product does not perform as stated for a given period of time we’ll return your money. We’ll take the risk away from you.

Scared of offering a money-back guarantee? Let the math decide for you

Despite the proven power of offering a money-back guarantee, many business owners are terrified of all their customers asking for their money back and them going out of business. This never happens.

But prove it to yourself. Test the waters carefully. Just in one small store, market, event or area, offer the money-back guarantee. Pay attention to how much your conversions and profits increased. Then after the stated period, see how much was returned. And compare the overall increase in profits, given any returns.

You will likely be nicely surprised, and from there you can carefully expand outwards.


61

The psychology behind why guarantees work so well is complex. But put simply, it’s the same as the free trial premise – people make the product part of their lives, they then hate to lose it. They get used to life with that problem solved, and they can’t bear to go backwards.

Also, people weight money differently. Money that they have already spent seems less in the mind’s eye than money they are about to spend. When people look at the buying decision from the other side of the transaction they see the cost as less. Strange as this may seem, it is true. Perhaps you can think of an example in your own experience.

Again, like the free trial, once someone has bought your solution you are in their lives. They are taking the puppy home to the kids. You have as long as you like to work on them and really drum in these principles and make them a lifelong client. Of course, the most powerful way to sell is to give them an amazing product or solution that surpasses all expectations.

Also, there is an incredibly powerful principle that every business owner should know well. People buy based on emotions. Emotions which you are controlling and leading in the right direction with your copywriting and all these tools – pain, fear, pleasure, excitement, urgency, etc.

Then, after the transaction people always rationalise and give logical reasons for their decision. Their unconscious mind just throws up excellent reason after excellent reason why that was good decision. As someone in business, your job is to get the prospect to


62

that place of rationalising their decision as quickly as possible.

Once they are there, there is no turning back for 99% of people. The decision just becomes a good one, with great reasons. The product, service or solution just becomes part of their lives. Time to move on to new things.

Free trails and guarantees are the only way to get there and trigger that rationalising tendency apart from the full sale.

If there is any possible way to get them into your copywriting, and make use of these forces you would be crazy not to. Very few things will increase your conversion rates more!

There are a few extra tips to making guarantees more effective. One is that for some reason or another, the longer the guarantee period the fewer the returns. So a 6-month money-back guarantee will almost always getfewer returns than a 1-month guarantee.

All the psychological principles explained above have far more time to work on them. Six months down the line your solution is well and truly part of their lives and how could they live without it? If they think about refunding immediately, they will just think ‘well, I have 6 months more’ may as well wait a bit. Then months later they will forget all about it.

Another very powerful converting tip is to offer even more than the money-back if they return the fee! This may see crazy, and it does take some iron nerve to pull


63

it off, because you are always afraid that everyone will return the service and you can make a loss.

But again, don’t let your emotions decide, let the math decide. Do the guarantee. Watch the conversions jump like crazy. Then hold your breath for the guarantee period and see that the returns are so few. Your profits greatly increased as a result. Celebrate and do it even more.

One last tip for guarantees. Just on the other side of the sale, give them surprise bonuses. Ones that you didn’t even mention in the sales page. Your new customers will love you for it. And they will instantly tell themselves loud and clear than they made an incredibly good decision.

The surprise bonuses needn’t be very costly. See the earlier chapter on bonuses for ideas. Once, I joined a course and I got a box of homemade brownies in the post with a thank you and welcome message. You think I stayed with that course? You bet I did.

So go to your copywriting right now and find some way – any way – to cram a guarantee in there. Then sit backand enjoy the results.


64

TIP TWENTY THREE: SHOW THEM EXACTLY THE STEPS THEY WILL TAKE JUST BEYOND THEM PAYING

“The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” ― H.P. Lovecraft

One final trick to helping your prospect 'Envision' life with your solution, while removing obstacles, including the ever-present fear of the unknown.

It is a lovely little kick to conversions if you can tell them, or better yet show them, exactly what will happen immediately in the moments after they pay. This disarms their fear of the unknown and also helps them to visualise paying and enjoying the result. It gives them a little lift of excitement as they taste getting your lovely solution in their lives and actually experiencing it minutes from now.

Just tell them, "after you sign up you will be instantly sent to your personal welcome page where you will get…" Or "your representative will call you right away to…" Or "your product will be instantly sent to you and will be in your hands by tomorrow morning".

Just show them quickly those few little steps beyond paying, to the beginning of their adventure. Just trigger those feelings of excitement that wipe away all objections.


65

This tip should really be combined with another – to promise immediate results, or at least immediate delivery, or immediate first steps towards results. Basically, so they can see themselves beginning in the next few minutes, which is unbearably exciting for many people.

Take a look at your copywriting near the end and think about how you can quickly add in this element. You will be pleased you did.

In the next tip, a nice surprise!

TIP TWENTY FOUR: GIVE YOUR COPYWRITING A NICE LAST MINUTE SURPRISE!

"I never want to do the same things twice. I like surprises." – Audrey Tautou

Yes, literally, this tip is a nice surprise. It’s a powerful little way of helping to create a massive dose of 'Arousal', while blowing away the last of those objections and doubts in the mind.

Right at or towards the end of your copywriting, turn the last bit into a quick surprise that suddenly doubles or more the entire value of your offering. Picture your prospect, they have flown through your copywriting, experiencing all the impacts of every technique in this book. They are super-excited, verging on buying.

66

At the end a certain percentage of your readers will always be wobbling between that excited emotional voice telling them to buy. To just do it! And on the other hand they’ll have the voices of fear and doubt, telling them to maybe hold back.

Help the emotional, excited voice out – give it a huge logical argument to beat the other voices out with!

Right at the end suddenly say ‘and because of________ we’re offering half the price to the next 10 buyers’ or ‘we’re throwing in an extra bonus – a free consultation – to anyone who buys today!’ Or anything you can thinkof.

Take a look at the last part of your copywriting now. Just think of those on-the—fence readers. Give them a reason to fall right off that fence, onto your side.

Here we are. The very last tip. And like the expression goes, I have truly saved the best to last. This next component of copywriting is the number one mistake business owners make that cuts their conversions right down. Make sure you have this last component on every one of your copywriting pages, if nothing else.


67

TIP TWENTY FIVE: HAVE A CRYSTAL CLEAR COMMANDING CALL TO ACTION – TELL THEM TO BUY!!“Only one thing counts in this life – get them to sign on

the line which is dotted. A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing. ALWAYS BE CLOSING.”

– Blake, Glengarry Glen Ross

I don’t know why it is, but so many business owners forget to include a strong call to action in their copywriting. It makes no sense. The entire purpose of your copywriting is to get the person who is reading it to take an action – to buy your product, to contact you for more information, to take the free trail.

Whatever your call to action is, never, ever leave it up to the reader to work out. If you do you are ruining all your hard work on the rest of your marketing.

You only want them to do one thing, so tell them to do that one thing.

Just say it in extremely simple words: ‘Buy Here’ or ‘Click Here to Take Your Free Trial Now’ or ‘Call Us Today’

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or clever. Simple use very direct, unambiguous words to tell them exactly what you want them to do. It works. People


68

follow instructions, especially if it makes perfect sense to and because they are excited to because of your incredible offer and copywriting.

If you are hesitant to put a strong, direct and commanding call to action on your page in a very clear place. It’s best to have it many times repeated. Near the top and in the middle for eager buyers. Always at the end.

Try to think why it is you are hesitating. It might be a slight shyness, not wanting to use a commanding voice with their prospect. It might be fear of selling. It might be because you don’t believe in your product.

All these things need to go out the window. If you are shy, forget it. Be brazen, be bold. Your prospect will appreciate it. If you are afraid of selling then get over it. You can’t survive in business if you are afraid to strongly sell your solution to people’s problems.

If you don’t believe in your product or service you have a problem. There is never any point wasting time trying to sell something you do not believe 100% with all your heart is a wonderful thing for your customer to have in their lives. You’re wasting your time and the reader’s time.

You need to start another business or build a better product.

And when you have a product or service you believe in, sell it as hard as you possibly can. Put that call to action in there. No piece of copywriting is complete without it.


69

To enhance the power of your call to action, you can tell the prospect in exact detail what to do. Instead of just telling them to ‘Click Here for More Info’ you could tell them to ‘Click Here to Visit the Contact Page, and Fill Out the Contact Us Form. We’ll Be in Touch With You Immediately.’

The more detail you can give a command in, the more likely it is to be carried out. And for the most effective call to action, all the other tips in this book should be in place.

When the reader has been Snapped, Held, massively Aroused. They’ve had all Buts Removed, and have been increasingly Pressurized until they are drooling for your solution. Then they’ve Envisioned or even experienced life with your solution.

When all these stages have been hit again and again and your copy is truly SHARPENED, you are ready to Nail It home with a direct commanding call to action. They will take that action. Your conversions will skyrocket. Your profits and business success will too.


70

CONCLUSION: THE AWESOME POWER OF CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ON YOUR CONVERSIONS

"A lollapalooza effect is a combination of factors that lead to an outstanding result." – Charlie Munger

“Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them,

more able to get where they’d like to go.” – Seth Godin

Remember that all these tips are proven to work. They all have a powerful psychological impact. Most are not things that your prospects sit down and very carefully research and look into. They just go straight into their minds, edging down their resistance, and nudging up their willingness to trust and buy.

If these techniques are used one at a time, then very educated and astute people may be able to analyse them and resist their influences. But all together, relentlessly stacked on top of each other, one after another, they are totally irresistible.

Billionaires Warren Buffett and his right hand man Charlie Munger never go to auctions because of what Munger calls the Lollapalooza Effect. When 3 or 4 or more of these psychological principles are stacked on top of each other one after another it is almost impossible for anyone to keep a very straight, impartial, logical mind.


71

An action stacks many of the effects in this book. Authority, from the auctioneer, Social Proof, from all the people bidding, Scarcity from the competition. Credibility, USP, a story, your primary problem addressed, all from the salesmanship of the auctioneer. And many more.

Munger and Buffett do not go to these auctions because they doubt their ability to resist these forces and make a solid, objective decision.

These are two of the most intelligent, rational and successful business minds on the planet. If they can’t resist the powers of these proven psychological techniques, how can your prospects hope to? And if Buffett and Munger recognise the powers of these techniques, how can you afford not to recognise and use them too?

Your very next step should be to pick any one of these tips that really felt good to you. Go and read a piece of your own copywriting, and just think of how you can insert that tool in there.

Make sure you have some recording of your current rates of conversion. Even a rough number. Then implement that first tool. Measure the results. Over the next 6 or 12 months implement every one of these tips into your copywriting. Measuring and testing the entire time. Watch your conversions go up and up and up. And enjoy great business success!

Thank you for reading.

72

NOW WHAT? Now you have three options:

Option 1: You've picked up the art and science of copywriting so fast that you're ready to kick your newly found skills into action. And with that, I bid you good luck!

Option 2: You'd like to dig deeper, learn more secrets and take that leap into the world of professional copywriting. And in that case, click here to grab 10% off the best online copywriting course available.

Option 3: You'd like extra copywriting support for your brand's online and offline collateral. Support from pros who know exactly how to compel, convince and convert your customers with words. And in that case, get in touch and let's chat.

You decide.




copywriting · demystify copywriting and break it down into simple, actionable steps which any...

Documents